Buhari Gives Nod for NPA, NIMASA Governing Board

John Iwori
The long wait for the appointment of the chairman and members of the governing boards of two key parasatals in the Federal Ministry of Transportation, Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) and the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) ended yesterday as President Muhammadu Buhari has given a nod for its composition.

The helmsmen of the two parasatals, Ms. Hadiza Bala Usman and Dr. Adol Dakuku Peterside have been running the affairs of the multi-billion government agencies since their appointment without any governing board. Stakeholders in the maritime industry have described the situation as very unhealthy for the smooth operations of the two government agencies.

Buhari’s approval of the composition of the Governing Boards of NPA and NIMASA was contained in a statement signed by the Director (Press) in the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr. Bolaji Adebiyi.

The statement which was obtained by THISDAY yesterday said that while Emmanuel Olajide Adesoye is the Chairman of NPA, Major General Jonathan India Garba is the Chairman of NIMASA.
Other members of the NPA Board include Supo Shasore, Suleiman Ibrahim Halilu, Constance Harry Mashal, Umar Shu’aibu, and Charles Efe Emukowhate Sylvester.

Also in the board are Hadiza Bala Usman, Mohammed Bello Koko, Sekonte Davis, Idris Abubakar, and I. J. Uche-Okoro.
The board members of NIMASA include Asekomhe Oaakhia Kenneth, Mohammed Gidado Muazu, Hon. Barrister Ebele Obi, S. U. Galadanchi, Ms. Nene Betty Dike and Dakuku Peterside.

Other members are Rear Admiral Adeniyi Osinowo, Bashir Yusuf Jamoh, Joseph Oluwarotimi Fashakin, and Gambo Ahmed.

The statement was however silent on the appointment of the three executive directors for NIMASA. Since the arraignment of the erstwhile Director General, Dr. Patrick Ziakede Akpobolokemi and the three former Executive Directors, namely Mr. Haruna Baba Jauro, Barrister Callistus Nwabueze Obi and Captain Ezekiel Bala Agaba, in a Federal High Court over allegations of corruption and abuse of office, Dakuku has been running NIMASA without a fully constituted management team.

While Jauro was the Executive Director, Finance and Administration and was later named the Acting Director General, Obi was the Executive Director, Maritime Labour and Cabotage Services.
Agaba who was prior to his appointment a staff of Exxon Mobil, was the Executive Director, Maritime Safety and Shipping Development.

With Buhari’s silence on the naming of the three Executive Directors for NIMASA, THISDAY checks at the weekend revealed that those who lost out in the race to the governing board composition in NPA and NIMASA have intensified lobby to be appointed into the plum positions in the nation’s apex maritime regulatory authority.